Padding jacket for shirt-receiving form of shirt pressing apparatus



B. FORMAN PADDING JACKET FOR SKIRT-RECEIVING FORM 0F SHIRT PRESSING APPARATUS Filed Sept 10, 1968 owe. 1969 F IG.3

INVENTOR, Benjamin Fovmon,

60-min- ATTORNEY.

United States Patent 3,482,745 PADDING JACKET FOR SHIRT-RECEIVING FORM OF SHIRT PRESSING APPARATUS Benjamin Forman, Brooklyn, N.Y., assignor to Gibraltar Fabrics, Inc., New York, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Sept. 10, 1968, Ser. No. 758,862 Int. Cl. A41h /02 US. Cl. 223-67 8 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The padding jacket includes bags along its sides and across yoke region to be inflated by hot air introduced therein under pressure, to press such shirt regions. Said jacket is on the shirt-receiving form of a shirt pressing apparatus and is clad with the slightly moist shirt to be pressed. Said machine has heated platens for ironing the shirts front and back. Improper ironing of the yoke and incidental objectionable creasing of the shirt due to drooping folds in the wall of the yoke bag being caught by an pressed on by a platen which also interferes with the inflation of the yoke bag, are all avoided by having an elongated roll of a metal wool housed within the yoke bag to keep it distended; such metal content also serving as a heat sink offering residual heat which reduces the time per cycle of pressing machine operation.

The present invention relates to shirt pressing apparatus, and more particularly to that part thereof which works on the shirts yoke.

The pressing apparatus herein concerned with, is of the type wherein the shirt to be pressed is set onto a shirt-receiving form covered by a padding jacket. This assembly is between a heated front-pressing platen and a heated back-pressing platen, which are initially in spaced relation therewith. Said jacket padding has inflatable bag sections across the yoke and along each side, arranged to receive a pressurized hot air supply to be inflated and serve to press said shirt regions after the heated platens have come into pressing contact with the shirt. Upon a complete oscillation of said platens, said air supply had already been cut off, rest condition has been restored, and the ironed shirt is removed from the form. The next shirt to be pressed is mounted on the jacketed shirt-receiving form, and the machine is ready for the next cycle of operation which is initiated by the operator.

At reloading, said bags are in deflated condition. The shirt being mounted, is of course made taut in simple manner well known. Proper performance by the side bags is usual, without any attending difliculty. But a bad problem exists at the yoke bag, which the present invention has obviated. The grievous difficulty heretofore experienced, was that too often, the mounted shirt in being made taut on the form, caught the slack wall of the deflated yoke bag which had become folded on itself with folds drooped downwardly, caused in large part by the action of gravity, and so pressed on the folds, and then a platen would contact and press the shirt material against such folds, not only causing an objectionable crease, but also holding said yoke bag closed against inflation, so the yoke of the shirt was only creased but not pressed. The work had to be done over.

It is therefore the principal object of this invention, to provide the padding jacket with novel and improved means to assure that the inflatable bag at yoke region will not be caught by a platen, by avoiding the occurrence of drooping folds in its slack wall, and will be fully inflated in every instance, to properly iron the shirts yoke.

Since the yoke bag is in cold condition at the com- 3,482,745 Patented Dec. 9, 1969 mencement of introduction of hot air thereinto during each cycle of machine operation, some time interval must pass until the yoke bag is brought to ironing temperature.

It is therefore another object of this invention, to provide means which will minimize such heretofore required preheating interval, and thus increase the machines production by decreasing the time consumed per cycle of operation.

A further object of this invention, is to provide a single improvement in padding jackets, which will accomplish all of the above-mentioned functions, to facilitate the pressing of a yoke by automatic shirt pressing apparatus, of the character described, which is simple and reasonable in cost to manufacture, easy to be applied to heretofore existing types of padding jackets, and efficient in carrying out the purposes for which it is designed.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent as this disclosure proceeds.

For one practice of this invention, an elongated roll of stainless steel wool is housed within and distends the inflatable yoke bag of the padding jacket.

In the accompanying drawing forming part of this specification, similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views.

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of a shirt in its distended form as seen from the back of the garment.

FIG. 2 is a similar view as seen from the front.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary, partly diagrammatic, elevational view of a shirt pressing machine shown utilizing an embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 4 shows the back of a laid-out-flat padding jacket, which is included in the set-up shown in FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a side view shown partly in section, of the padding jacket of FIG. 4, mounted on the shirt-receiving form of the machine. The bags at yoke region and at each side, are in inflated condition.

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary perspective view, enlarged, showing one construction of the shredded metal roll to be housed in the bag at the yoke section of the padding jacket.

In the drawing, the main teaching of this invention is the provision of having a mass of shredded material designated by the numeral 15, housed in the outwardly inflatable bag 16 constituting the yoke-lining section of the padding jacket 17 'which is on the shirt-receiving form 18 of the shirt pressing apparatus indicated generally by the numeral 19. In a preferred embodiment as illustrated, such insertion consists of a roll denoted generally as 20, having an outer fabric casing 21, filled with stainless steel wool 15, or other moisture-resistant shredded metal substance, or shredded fiber glass, or other suitable comminuted material held in a loose mass. The word shredded as used herein and the appended claims, shall be deemed to include any suitable comminuted material which can substitute therefor as mica and the like.

In the well known pressing apparatus which is sparsely shown, the shirt-receiving form 18, clad in its padding jacket 17, receives thereon a shirt 22 which is to be pressed. The heated front pressing platen 23 is for pressing the shirts front panels 24, and the heated back pressing platen 25 is for pressing the shirts back panel 26. While this is taking place, a supply of pressurized hot air is fed into the yoke bag 16, through its intake tube 16 which extends through the neck hole of the shirt, and such air supply is also introduced into the inlet tubes 27' and 28' whereby the side bags 27, 28 become inflated. As is well known, the heated inflated bags 27, 28 will press the sides of the shirt, and the heated inflated bag 16 which is free of the platen 25, will press the yoke 30 of the shirt 22. But not always does the yoke bag 16 attain operative condition, as has been mentioned.

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In this respect it may be noted that the shirts yoke 30 extends rearward from the upper ends of the front panels 24, and around the line 29 of the back of the neck, covering most of the shoulder tops, fully across from one sleeve 31 to the other marked 32, and downwardly across the upper portion of the back 26. The outer wall 33 of the yoke bag 16 is normally lax, and being of material having some degree of stiffness, just assumes a flat condition and is not usually in position to be pressed on by either of the platens, which are moved to engage the shirt before hot air is sent into the yoke bag 16. However, the operator does not always mount a shirt in uniform position on the shirt-receiving form 18. Sometimes the shirt is set with the line 29 higher, and sometimes lower. Sometimes the padding jacket 17 shifts at little. These varying conditions are found to cause while the yoke bag is not inflated, drooping folds in said wall, due to gravity and shift of said wall by the shirt. When the shirt is put on the jacket-covered shirt-receiving form 18, and made taut by readily removable clamps or clips, or in other manners not shown, said folds F are flattened, and a platen presses tightly against such folds, causing an unwanted crease across the shirt, besides holding the yoke bag closed against being inflated. As the use of the machine continues, and in the normal wear, the occurrence of the objectionable drooping folds in the yoke bag wall 33, become more frequent, and much of the work is spoiled and must be done over again. This objectionable happening is avoided by the roll 20, because it keeps the yoke bag 16 sufliciently distended while the bag is not inflated, so no drooping'folds develop, and proper inflation of the yoke bag, never misses, and proper pressing of the shirts yoke is always attained. Said roll 20 extends substantially the full width of the shirts back, within the yoke bag. Said roll does not fill said yoke bag, but allows its inflation to a greater volume so as to accomplish a proper pressing job on the shirts yoke. The shredded material 15 is not tightly packed. There is always a softness in the filler and appreciable space is left in the yoke bag for its distension upon being inflated to press the yoke 30. In all events, the yoke bag 16 is really partly filled with the shredded mass.

It is evident that the residual heat in the metal wool mass 15, will prevent a cooling in the heated air rushing into the yoke bag at the commencement of the inflation of said bag, and hence will lessen the time required per cycle of machine operation.

The padding jacket 17 shown, is sleeveless and collarless, since the machine specifically illustrated, does no work on the sleeves 31, 32 or the collar 36, and said jacket may be in the form of an inverted sack, whose open side may be closed by a slide fastener as shown at 35. Although the sack-form is here shown rectangular when spread out flat, its side edges may be shaped when it is desired to attain a closer-to-torso-form, as is well known in this art. For the practice of this invention, the padding jacket 17, shall be such that it includes the yoke bag 16 with its insertion 20, and at least the upper part of the front and back of the torso-form. No change is contemplated or necessary in present padding jackets or pressing apparatus, and jackets heretofore in use, can be easily provided with the insertion as 20, to maintain the yoke bag sufliciently extended when not inflated, to avoid the objectionable formation of a drooping fold.

This invention is capable of numerous forms and various applications without departing from the essential features herein set forth. It is therefore intended and desired that the showings herein shall be deemed only illustrative and not restrictive, and that the patent shall cover all patentable novelty herein set forth.

I claim:

1. An outer padding jacket for the shirt-receiving form of a shirt pressing apparatus, including an outwardly inflatable yoke bag on the back thereof across the width of said jacket; said yoke bag having an inlet for connection to a supply of pressurized heated gas, and a mass of shredded material occupying space within said yoke bag and extending therein across the width of the jacket Whereby the yoke bag is maintained in a sufliciently distended condition when deflated, to avoid the formation of a drooping fold in its outer wall.

2. A padding jacket as defined in claim 1, wherein the shredded mass is in the form of a roll, and including a fabric casing housing said mass.

3. A padding jacket as defined in claim 1, wherein the shredded mass is of metal.

4. A padding jacket as defined in claim 3, wherein the shredded metal is stainless steel wool.

5. A padding jacket as defined in claim 3, wherein the shredded metal is impervious to moisture.

6. A padding jacket as defined in claim 1, wherein the shredded mass is of fiber glass.

7. A padding jacket as defined in claim 1, wherein the shredded mass is of comminuted material.

8. A padding jacket as defined in claim 1, wherein the shredded mass is loosely packed.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,622,774 12/1952 Freeman 22367 X 2,720,347 10/1955 Jackson '22367 2,743,854 5/1956 Strike 22357 2,921,727 1/1960 Lopez 2'2367 MERVIN STEIN, Primary Examiner GEORGE V. LARKIN, Assistant Examiner U.S. C1. X.R. 223-92 

